Trebah Garden

South Cornwall


Trebah Garden was planted in 1840 by Charles Fox, younger brother of Alfred, who established nearby Glendurgan Garden. It's less formal, with gigantic rhododendrons, gunnera and jungle ferns lining the sides of a steep ravine leading down to the quay and shingle beach. There's a pleasant cafe and souvenir shop beside the ticket office. Admission to the gardens is half-price from November to February.

Charles Fox was a notorious polymath and stickler for detail; the story goes that he made his head gardener construct a scaffold to indicate the height of each tree, barking out his orders from an attic window via a megaphone and telescope. At the bottom of the gardens, near the Japanese-style bridge, look out for a plaque commemorating the 7500 troops from the 29th US Infantry Division who set sail for Omaha Beach from the nearby slipway on D-Day, many of them never to return.


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